Armor Alley

[Deerfield]

Armor Alley. That little street that everybody walked through if they spent enough time in the harbor of Wistvale. Like its name suggested, it was a narrow path through a chaotic array of small buildings that were jam packed with shops and stands in and behind which traders of all possible origins displayed and offered goods of the armoring business. It was quite famous among the townsfolk. But the reason was not the armor.

This wasn't the best place to go to to find the best steel and leather, that shield that would be the most fitting in battle, that armor that you would remain with for the rest of your life. It was just what most people there earned their income with. It mostly didn't have the best quality, but the prices were appropriate.

No, the reason most people liked to stroll through and why a tour of Armor Alley belonged to one of the many experiences of Wistvale every inhabitant just had to go through was its popular atmosphere, as a whole. 

It started with the constructions elbowing eachother to the street's sides, competing for visibility to the men and women elbowing eachother from one end to the other. These constructions, put together with wood and other things most people didn't know - or wanted to know - belonged to some of the oldest buildings in the entire city, since Wistvale did start out as a harbor, after all. And weaponry and armoring had always been one of the most basic necessities. These what people called buildings were considered living beings, ever changing and therefore of huge interest to students of all arts. The inhabitants were constantly maintaining them, though in poor manner, just to keep them from collapsing. Some shops' walls were covered with arrows and darts, that ended up becoming a fascinating part of the actual wall itself. Just as much metals and skins of all sorts decorated the rooves and corners and columns, as well as animal heads and bones; trophies and advertisement alike. It was a peculiar setting for the daily drama that unfolded in this dense environement. The materials covering the houses, especially the skins and the leather as well as the chemicals that made them endure the weather blowing in from the sea were another reason why these buildings were able to reach such an advanced age. It created a certain resistance to fire and currosion.

The setting for the plays, the comedies and tragedies that took place every day, hour for hour was rounded off by the ocean breeze whistling through, blowing off the scents of melting iron, seasoning skins, acids, and all those other smells that beat up the nose. The winds had another strange effect. Sometimes, one could hear what somebody at the other end of Armor Alley was whispering, which is why rumors spread literally as fast as the wind in this crowded area. However, at other times the wind blew harder and crashed against the many different materials all around, so that people could have completely different fights and arguments a few yards next to eachother, while nobody could hear anything coming from the other bubble of people. Then of course there was the open - quite romantic - sight on a considerable portion of the docks area.

But the main attraction of Armor Alley were the people living and working there. A very lively bunch, it was a conglomeration of theaters without an entrance fee. Well, almost. The shops of Armor Alley relied heavily on the streets reputation and the superstitions and rumors surrounding it. People said, you had to buy at least one piece of armor during a visit, otherwise you would have bad luck and you would somehow get injured by the surroundings. Like most superstitions, there was truth in this. Many had already blocked an object thrown in their direction with a shield or something else, practically purchased just minutes before.

There were many visitors everyday. The people interacting in Armor Alley - competing for attention while regulating their everyday life with their neighbors - were always worth observing.

One of these local residents was Alexander of Deerfield.

[Deerfield]

Alexander lived in a small space under the roof that he thought was too small to actually be called a room. The only contents of that space in which he could barely stand up straight was a bed and a small selfmade altar devoted to Lii. But that was all that the young man needed. He was indeed very proud of his bed. He spent a lot of effort making it incredibly comfortable, bringing home furs and other fabrics from the shop. The bed covered almost the entire floor and was under a big wooden hatch in the roof. In the summertime he liked to keep it open and stare at the stars. This view was also his most helpful instrument to seal the deal with any women he took to his room.

It was one of many rooms under the rooves of the many run down buildings in Armor Alley. He shared a hallway and, down the stairs on the middle floor, a kitchen and a bathroom with all the other residents of the building. All were crafts- and salesmen along with their families. The families inhabited the bigger rooms on the middle floor, of course. The bottom floors of all the buildings in the area were packed with the workshops and stores the residents worked in.

Alexander didn't really own anything by himself. He worked in a partnership - rather just a cooperation - with two women. The three of them ran a shop together. Their products were mostly pieces of armor, but also anything else made of leather and wool. They were starting to create more and more normal clothing.

The head of the whole operation was Luna; sometimes Alex referred to her as the Lunatic. Somewhere towards 40 years old with straight black hair, she was a very demanding hard worker who knew exactly what she wanted. And things had a tendency to go the way she wanted it. She was top notch when it came to fashion and knowing what was going to sell and how customers were to be attracted. She drew the designs for the products and told her coworkers what they had to do. Always wearing the latest style as well as plenty make-up and accessories, she liked presenting herself in the background. She wanted to be noticed, but just as much, she wanted to have an eye on everything.

The other woman was 21 year old Izz, called Izzy by most, and called Itchy by her closest friends and family. That was because, being the specialist for wool and sewing, she always had some of those sheep hairs on her, especially in her long blonde curly hair. Her youngest brother with 7 years of age however had been allergic to wool from the beginning. He was the one who invented that nickname, Itchy. Her eyes weren't the best and her far sight had gradually become worse the last few years. Additionally, she was a very shy person and blushed easily. Therefore, she didn't like to be out in the open. She was a professional with all fabrics and one of the few people Luna trusted to accomplish her designs. All the boys and girls that temporarilly worked in the shop where taught and mentored by her. Lately, the quite femininely appealing woman had been under pressure from her big family - 7 brothers and sisters, about a dozen aunts and uncles - to finally find a man to marry. Much to everybody's amusement, almost all members of that big family mistrusted and even hated Alexander. 

Alexander himself was the group's muscle and front man. He looked great and got along with almost anybody who walked by. Beyond that, he was a pretty good salesman and interacted in a genius way with all competitors and customers. And he did all the dirty and heavy work. He did what he was told with the big skins that he lugged over from the docks and worked into sturdy leather. He enjoyed his work because half of it was a great workout and the other half was just fun. He loved meeting new people and talking to random aquaintances. Plus, the women that passed by loved watching him. 

[Deerfield]

The best days were the normal days, because a normal day in Armor Alley had nothing normal about.

Alexander was laying on his back when he opened his eyes as far as he could. They were sticky with sleep, "and hopefully only that", he thought. It was early morning, the sunlight was shining against the farside wall of his bed through the semi-open hatch above him. He coughed and yawned at the same time, turning his head and his squinting eyes to what the sunlight revealed to them.

The light was brightly shining directly onto a figure in the doorway, as if to give a warning to the young man laying in his bed, covered sparcely with blankets and furs. Especially one elevated body part the blankets failed to cover that morning.

The figure started speaking with a female voice, it seemed with a very, very disgruntled tone.
"Ugh, you're utterly pathetic, I hope you at least realise that."

Alexander rubbed his eyes and wanted to say something but instead had to cough some more. He cleared his voice. 

But the woman that had apparently violently opened the door to his room and wakened him knew what he meant. She knew him better than she liked.
"As you can see by the shadow on the sunclock under your bloated belly, it is TIME TO DO YOUR ACCURSED JOB!"

He grabbed his head at his temples. It hurt when she yelled, but he knew it would only make it worse if he yelled back to Luna. He recognized her voice and smiled, even though everything was hurting. Luna loved torturing Alexander, but he somehow liked this about her. He thought she must actually have good feelings for him if she was always so bent on him getting himself into shape and getting something done in his life. He lifted his head and looked towards his bloated belly. Between the images of his feet he saw what she was talking about. 
"Hey, you're right. Guess I'll go open shop right away, Ma'am."

He loved it when he gave Luna nothing to fight with him about, but she always found something to foil this plan. He stood up and she instantly backed out of the doorway rolling her eyes. He glanced at her but did not make it obvious he was looking her way. He liked seeing her in the morning, before she had put on all her make-up and when she was wearing simply a robe and no fancy fashion and accessories. As he made his way through the door, she yelled point blank into his right ear.
"WHAT IN ALL HELLS DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!?!"
He opened his mouth with that sly smile and she knew exactly what he was going to say. She abruptly continued without giving him a chance to get smart on her.
"Put something on you jerk! Cover that thing, there's kids in the house."

She was insulting about it, but she was right, and he knew Luna was usually right. He went back to his bed, grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around his waist. As he turned back around he caught a glimpse of Luna looking down to where his blanket now was, with a a stupid grin on her face. He walked back up to her, now standing in the hallway with her. He tensed up the muscles of his torso. What had looked to her as a bloated belly before now came much closer to a serious sixpack.
"You like what you see?"

Her grin turned into a frown instantly. He felt as if her eyes had struck him with lightning.
"I definately don't like what i smell. Just do what I pay you for and let me get ready."

She loved to act as if she was the employer, even though the shop was a cooperation between them and Izz. Well, one could still say she was the boss. Even though she had said to leave her, she followed him to the stairs, nagging for what seemed as an eternity to him. When he arrived at the stairs she made a frustrated sigh and ran back towards her room. He turned back to make sure she finally left him alone. He shook his head and smiled as he made his way down the stairs, towards the washing area.

Everybody in the house shared two rooms for washing themselves, one for men and one for women. As he walked into the mens' room there was great laughter. They had all heard the entire event, and thought it to be quite funny. Alexander greeted his friends, somebody threw a bucket of water over him, he waved as a thanks and left again.

He got the same comments thrown at him in the kitchen. A woman threw a big piece of bread with butter at him. As it stuck on his big chest muscles, the other women laughed and clapped their hands. He laughed with them and waved them a good day.

Drenched wet, eating the bread, still wearing just a blanket, he grabbed the keys to the leather workshop, went down the last flight of stairs and started opening all doors and windows to the shop he shared with Luna and Izz, greeting all the other merchants, traders, smiths, tanners, craftsmen and -women.

He was the one who opened the shop every morning. Mainly because Luna, who lived in the same house as well, didn't want to smell all those chemicals every morning. But she always argued that Alexander didn't need any preparation, as one clearly saw. She on the other hand, had to figure out what dress to wear and what other clothing and accessories matched it; and she did have two sons to take care of, without the help of a husband. Izz on the other hand lived together with the rest of her family at her parents' house towards the city center. Alexander didn't complain; he never complained. He took a quick glance at the skins that were being tanned in their baths, then he went to the back of the shop.

When he entered the street moments later, wearing his armor along with his sword straped to his back, he took a breath in, what seemed for almost a full minute. 

A rough, manly voice broke the silenc.
"I see you're ready for another day in Armor Alley"

Alexander greeted Orff, the smith from across the street, as he made his way towards him, carrying two mugs of ale.
"I'm always ready for whatever I get. How's it going." He laughed as he pointed towards the windows above the smithy.

Orff joined in the laugh and shook his head as he handed Alexander the mug in his right hand.
"Agh, just the usual with my mistress and the kids that eat my food. I really can't wait for you to get a wife and kids, Deerfield. Maybe that'll wipe that everlasting smile off your face."

They cheered and drank and laughed. The first visitors were already entering Armor Alley. 

Alexander loved his life.

[Deerfield]

The two of them had only finished half of their drink when the first customers were already passing them on the street. Alexander caught a glimpse of Izz's head. "That girl really knows how to take care of her hair", he thought.
"Orff, lets get started."

Orff looked at him out of the corner of his eyes.
"There's only a couple 'a strollers walkin' around, hardly worth the effort."

Alex downed his ale and spat the last bit at the smith's boots.
"I want my girls to think I'm workin'. Don't wanna know what will happen when Luna walks out the door and I'm still havin' a drink with ya, all peaceful 'n all that."

"Well screw that, ain't nobody got time for that! She's just as crazy as my damn wife! At least the woman that commands me around lets me put my hands on her" He exclaimed in a chuckling whisper.
The smith downed his ale, following the tanner's example. Pushing him away towards his shop. They seperated and went into there shops.

Orff's face somehow quickly became gloomy, staring out the front window of his shop for everybody to see. He had had his fair share of real battle, and he always pretended to be his sergeant back in the good old days back in the pioneers. Orff felt good when he imagined to walk into battle; he didn't want those days of ever surrounding death to come back, but he liked putting himself back to those days, when death and misery was so close, but he emerged a survivor. He felt proud of what he had been capable of, before he married the woman who he felt held him back.

Alexander went into his workshop, leaning against the wall and observing Orff with a slight concern, as always. The smith was either a very convincing actor or he was more into this than the tanner was comfortable with. The whole operation however was a ingenious idea, thought up by - who else - Luna. Orff and Alexander were both sizable men with considerable skill. They were able to fight against eachother to make it look real and thrilling to an audience without injuring eachother. The look in Orff's face did create doubts on Alex's side that the smith didn't want to hurt him, though.

He gathered some items he used for the show. He would throw around left over shredded pieces of leather to make it look as if his armor had been damaged, for example. He looked out the window again to see Orff sharpening his broadsword, glaring at the tanner's shop with a ghastly image of pillage and murder carved in his face. Alex lifted an eyebrow as a chill ran down his spine.

The shop was slowly filling with light as the sun rose higher. It was a rare occasion to see that place so empty, tools and materials moving in the calm ocean breeze. Soon it would be a hustle and bustle in there. Soon more visitors would come into Armor Alley to witness the daily drama, be entertained, and buy souvenirs and maybe even a larger chunk of armor. It would be stupid to chase away the tourists, but their attention had to be captured. They had to be lured closer, and their interest in the equipment being used arroused. Luckily, Luna had worked things out with Rufus and the locally patroling sentinels. The fights were just a show; and besides, anybody who walked into Armor Alley pretty much knew what they could get themselves into.

Alexander looked out the window again and searched for Izz. She was almost there. He moved his eyes towards Orff, who was now grasping a broadsword as well as a hammer so tightly his knuckles under those thick leather gauntlets were becoming visibly white. He considered this fight one last time, but he figured anything Orff could do to him in battle wouldn't be half as bad as the messed up stuff Luna could come up with when she was mad at him. He made himself visible in the shops doorway and gave the smallest nod in the direction of the opposite side of the street.

Orff jumped out of the window and after making the stands and merchants around him tremble with his bloodthirsty war cry, he charged towards Alexander who was calmly walking out onto the street, pulling his sword from its sheath on his back.

[Deerfield]

The hulking smith had everybody seeing the scene convinced that they would see somebody's blood more than soon, even those who knew about the show the metal and the leather worker performed regularly. The sun was still rising past the rooftops, and the light that shone into the alley more from the side than from above made the dust and dirt visible that was hammered from the street everytime one of the smith's feet beat against it. His eyes and mouth wide open, the hairs of his beard waving up and down, his sword seemed to be frozen at excatly the same hight and positioning above its holder, just zooming in at alarming speed.

Seeing this comforted Alexander, although this may seem strange. Despite Orff's behavior otherwise, he did not actually want to harm his friend. Thus, he was giving him enough time to read his attack. Even without their experience in combating eachother, the leather worker would know exactly what to do to dodge the upcoming blow. And that he did, dragging his bidenhander along in his lazy, minimalistic fighting style. He knew that later on he would have to do something spectacular; but while the crowd was still assembling itself, there was no need to get worked up. As he dodged forward past the smith, Orff's broadsword slashed though the nearby table like it was hot butter. Before the table could collapse, Alexander pushed him onto it from behind, igniting a more dramatic scene.

Alexander looked around as Orff got back onto his feet, throwing pieces of chipped wood around for the hell of it. He found it astonishing, everytime, how easy it was to draw crowds in this place. Already about twenty people had gathered to observe the fight, even if some of them knew it wasn't real. About the same number was approaching quickly, as well as another equal count running into the alley on the first enthusiastic morning rush. The other merchants understood that this was good for their own business as well, so they supported it, just as long as the fights didn't become too popular to endanger them. But so far it was simply the new thing to see in Armor Alley. 

Izz ran the last short distance to play her part in the event's dramatization. She tried not to get to close and stay out of harms way, but she did have to get near enough to see halfway clearly what was really happening. She put on a face of dispair and cried out as loud as she could, 
"Please, do not harm him! It's not worth somebody getting killed!"

The two men smiled at eachother and knew that they were thinking up the same twist, just to have a little fun with the girl. Orff yelled out in a bloodthirsty, martialistic voice,
"No, little girl. You cannot protect him this time. He has gone too far! This boy deserves to perish at my blade. I have forged this sword myself and it is one of my finest pieces. It serves this one purpose and will cut through him just as easily as it sliced through this solid wooden table here!"
The smith pointed to the table, that in fact was just a dusty relict found in the back of his workshop a day before. Every stick could have broken it. He held up the sword he was talking about for everybody even in the back rows to see. He hoped he could sell it at a higher price after this was over.

Alexander laughed at him and made similar praising remarks about his leather armor that would protect him even from the sharpest blades. They continued to fight and eventually Izz actually believed they were fighting for real this time, even though a reason for the fight was never mentioned. She cried and screamed her lungs out, attracting ever more onlookers into the street. Luna stood in the leather workshop, watching the scene from the shadows. Immediately, her brain was figuring out a way to profit from the spontanious change of plans. She felt sorry for Izz, who was expecting another chain of events after her arrival, but she would agree once she got her fair share handed out.

While the two men fought and the viewers were astonished by their professional combat, Luna prepared some simple trinkets, pieces of leather hanging on a thread along with the remaining garbage she found on the workshop's floor. When she had two finished on the go, she walked outside with them. Her appearance was hardly noticable to the crowd that was causing quite a commotion by itself already, but Orff instantly let off from the attack when he saw her. Alexander sinked on one knee and pretended exhaustion. Orff spat on his arm,
"Argh, I can't kill you in the sight of this girl. She's breaking my heart! Tell her to stop it! You got lucky again, tanner."

Luna smiled, walked between the three in the crowd's encircling and raised a handfan to get the people's attention.

[Deerfield]

The fan's colors and designs matched those of her dress and even shoes and hairpieces. Alexander wondered how Luna managed to do it, and she always continued to baffle him. However, there was no secret behind it, just a lot of time and effort. She had a trade partner who she borrowed the outfits from, thus promoting his goods. She had contacts and relationships with most traders in and around the port, and she knew everything about all of them without needing to write it down, though she could indeed read and write. But being mysterious and surprising with her knowledge of private affairs was part of her image. And her image was essential to her business, her life. There were some bad rumors about her two sons being unwanted side effects of some of these "trade" relations, but nobody really knew enough about her to be able to claim any truth to anything.

Moments like these were what she lived for. All eyes were set on her, and she enjoyed looking back at every pair of them. She started talking eloquently and almost poetically about what had happened. The story was pure fiction, of course. It culminated after a few minutes in the strength of a beautiful woman's love that could sway and violence and hatred. She produced the necklaces and "amulets" from her wide sleeves and introduced them as tokens of this love. They were made with the shreds of the fight, and anybody who had just witnessed the show should feel obligued to take one, for a small symbolic price.

While she was talking, Izz realized she would have to manufacture many more of these souvenirs. She went into the shop after collecting any pieces of any material laying on the ground. Alex did the same and followed her, Luna making a show out of the couple composing the tokens themselves. They would protect anybody wearing them and bring luck and love. She auctioned the first two she had made herself.

The crowd went crazy, and the enthusiasm to buy was unleashed. She ordered the crowds in groups and lines and whispered to Orff to walk away since he was the villain in the whole play. She would give him his fair share later. He later sold his broadsword at an astonishingly good price as well.

It was a good start into the workday, and the rumors spread faster than the necklaces and wristbands through the streets. Luna observed and sold, while Izz and Alex slaved away in the back, only half visible to the crowds pushing to get a peek at them. Luckily, two sets of helping hands had come along, two young girls learning Izz's profession from her. And it wasn't difficult to assemble the day's product. The whole thing kept them busy for more than half the day, the later being mostly just the usual selling of clothes and armor.

They all had fun, but were too busy to take a break until the sun started to set over Wistvale. When the day was done, Luna counted the profits and thought deeply about how much to concede to the smith who had helped cath the crowd's interest. She supposed Izz, Alex and herself would need a bigger share than him, and their two young apprentices. So it would be something around two hares of ten for the first and one of ten for the later. Then the last share for the workshop in general. That sounded fair to her, but fair didn't sound good to her. She would figure out ways to make the others' shares smaller, which involved no effort on her side.

[Deerfield]

When the day was drawing to a close, they just dropped everything and hardly bothered to tidy up the shop. Luna ordered Alex around, telling him set up a table and some benches, and get a keg of ale from the brewery around the corner. She had completed counting the day's money intake, down to the last tin and copper pieces, and already had an idea of how to secure the biggest share for herself. 

While Deerfield was away buying some booze, and Orff was still having dinner with his family across the street, Luna went inside to check on Izz and her two apprentices, who were still practicing and working on various cloth designs together. She had most of the profits in a small wooden chest and thought briefly, then interrupted their work,
"Izz, my dear. Why don't you call it a day and go home to your parents. I bet they're already waiting for you. I'll guard your fair share and give it to you tomorrow. Run along now, I'll pay these lasses before I send them home as well."
Luna gave a fake warm smile, and Izz saw right through it.

The blonde wasn't stupid, and although her eyes were very bad, she saw many things others like Alex didn't see. Izz knew that Luna always kept the biggest share for herself. However, she actually thought it the way it should be. She did not appreciate the older woman's games though. Luna always treated Izz like a little girl, maybe because she was too shy to say anything against it. There was no need to, in her eyes. Luna had two young boys to feed and take care of, Alexander would only waste it on alcohol and women, and Izz lived with her parents with hardly any own expenses.

Luna did know that Izz was smart enough to see her schemeing, but she continued to play them with her anyway, maintaining a sort of fassade. Nobody really knew if the two women liked or disliked eachother. They never talked openly to the one another, always keeping up their guards. Therefore, Luna also always gave the younger woman the second largest share. She was a valuable worker, and her parents had to be convinced to keep letting her work in Armor Alley. Besides, Izz reinvested almost half of her salary into the workshop. There were many schemes going on between the two, most of which Deerfield didn't have the slightest clue. It was like a high-level chess or card game being observed by an oblivious child.

Izz stood up and patted the girls on their shoulders,
"You both did very well today. I'll see you tomorrow and we'll try to get more woolwork done, alright?"
Then she walked past Luna on her way towards the exit without looking at her,
"They did work hard today. Give them a token reward. See you tomorrow."

Luna's right eye twitched when Izz said this. "Fine, then what I give them extra will come from your share." she thought.

She watched as Izz left and then gave the two apprentices just a little money to show some thanks for their part in the day's sales. It was a bit more than she had planned.

"That was the easy part" she sighed after they had left. Soon the tanner would come back, and with him the smith, his friend. It wouldn't be as easy to rob them of some coin, but she hoped the keg would help.

[Deerfield]

Luna sat there and pondered about her life. She wondered how she had gotten to where she was, and how long it would take to reach the next stage in her existence. She was over forty years old and unmarried, after all. She already had two sons who she loved dearly but she had never given up hope to find a permanent male partner to brave her life with. She didn’t see her sons as hurdles in the way of her achieving this, quite on the contrary. She no involvment in prostitution, and these two lads weren’t conceived unwillingly. She had contacts and intensive ties to very influential people, people with extravagant needs and desires. She was well known in the circles she wanted to be known in, but her ultimate goal was to raise her entire life into the ranks of these hidden societies. Her life was more complicated than she liked, but only somtimes. Most of the time she loved it this way.

However, the more she got to know the men and women she wanted to be like, the less she enjoyed them. And the more she got to know the men and women she met on her path towards destiny, the more she wanted to stay with them. Their life was more primitive than what she had been aiming for since she could remember, but they offered something in abundance which the people pulling the strings behind society’s curtains had severe problems to come by. One of the most basic commodities available to humans. Sincere fun and joy. And one of the best examples fate had thrown into her path was –

"Luna! Get a load of this!" Deerfield hollered as he came around the bend. He had a wooden keg of 20 liters of beer on one shoulder, and the brewer’s early teenaged daughter on the other, and inbetween a smile across his entire face. Luna half smiled, half frowned, half raised her eyebrows in confusion. Surely, men of all ages tended to enjoy the company of young women, but that little girl...?
"She's helping me keep my balance, and doing a mighty fine job. Lissa's the best worker in her papa's entire brewery, isn't that right?"

"Yes!" The girl screamed with a smile, sliding off Alexander's arm as he tried to keep her from slamming against the cobblestone. Luna completed her smile in relief. He was just fooling around with the little girl. Alex was child himself in many ways.

When he eventually arrived at the table he set down the keg and the girl on it with a face stricken with tension. He sat down, breathing heavy, "Now run back to your father and tell him how thankful I was for your help. Here, for you, don't give it to that old man, alright?" He gave her a small silver piece and when she giggled "You're such a fool, but a strong fool", courtsied and walked back the way they had come, he waved to her father who had been peeking around the corner the entire time, his eyes filled with suspicion.

When she was gone Deerfield bent over and tried to catch his breath. He had been trying to hide that he was about to faint from the weight on his shoulders. Luna just observed him with a hidden grin. She liked the guy, and almost thought of him as an own older son. Therefore, it frustrated her just the more when he underperformed and wasted his life away. She knew all about his background, but she had overcome similar circumstances in far less time. And now she was on her way to the top, while the young man seemed far too content with the status quo.

"I can't believe you gave her a full silver piece. I hope you're not planning anything with that innocent lil lass." She finally started when his huffing and puffing normalized.

He bent his head up, keeping his body position, "Aaah come on Lulu, just havin some fun with the neighborhood kids. You know I am only drawn to fully developed, older women." The glance he gave her was a definite sign that he was playfully flirting with her. She just rolled her eyes and placed the chest from beside her onto the table.

At that moment a window from across the street suddenly opened wide, with a baby's scream, multiple childrens' yelling, as well as a mother's angry shouting eminating from it. Luna and Alex didn't understand a word, but they knew it was Orff's family. Orff, the smith who just came walking out of his workshop, holding his head as if it ached.

Luna just sighed and motioned the leather worker with her head to get working on tapping the keg.

[Deerfield]

Orff looked grim in the dim light of the setting sun. He held his head with his left hand, and moaned in a way that made it obvious to Luna and Alex what he was moaning about. His wife didn’t like the fact that he was involved with the two from across the street. She was a housewife, and one of her favorite occupations besides taking care of her many children was gossip. She knew everything about everybody in Armor Alley, or so she thought. She got a kick from gossiping with the other housewives or anybody willing to share any spectacular stories about the other people around her, and the bad stories were always easier to keep in memory than the good ones. And much to Luna’s and Alex’s discontent, there were plenty of bad stories and rumors involving them to go around Wistvale, both true and untrue.

Unlike Orff, she never actually talked to the people she heard these things about. Orff and Alexander had become such good friends that the smith was able to distinguish between fact and fiction, as well as figure out that regardless of his many mistakes, the tanner was in fact a good man. Luna on the other hand, he didn’t exactly like her, but he knew much worse, and he enjoyed the company of others rather than gossip about them.

As the bearded muscular man came closer Deerfield shouted louder than his wife, even though he could hear him without a problem, "So how’s your lady treatin’ ya?" He laughed, and Luna chuckled as well. Even Orff couldn’t resist his contagious laugh and joined in as he sat down beside him and set the three steins he had been carrying in his right hand on the table.

The smith made a long sigh and rested his elbows on the table as he watched his wife close the window, "We’re not really enjoying eachother at the moment... don’t really wanna talk about it. Let’s have a drink!"

He looked at the others over the table and they both just grinned mischievously as nobdy had tapped the keg yet. The smith then sat upright, and with a low growl he tipped the keg, took the tap and slammed it into the marked opening, not even considering the hammer that rested a few feet away. He turned the tap's screw and let the first foam shoot out onto the street before he closed it again and then started filling one stein after the other.

Alex laughed in awe "I love your methode. No way in hell I could tap a barrel without a hammer."

Orff passed on the beer to the others "Just cuz ye haven't even tried it, boy. Almost anything can be done with enough force."

Luna grabbed her stein and lifted it up with one hand across the table to cheer "a smith's way of seeing things. Trust me, force has but an auxiliary function within our society. Only a strong mind can climb the social ladder. Let's get to counting, shall we?"

Orff grunted at her "To the ninth hell with your cursed social ladder. First we drink. I'm as thirsty for beer as the gods for our pain." He lifted his drink and tipped it against Luna's and looked into her eyes. Then they both turned to Alex who already had his stein in his hand, ready to cheer.

"I love you guys" the young man said with hardly any excitement in his voice. He smiled and pushed his beer against theirs.

[Deerfield]

They all drank the entire beverage at once, slamming the steins on the wooden table, adding to ist many beating marks and indentations. Orff could drink like a sewer and stay uninfluenced, but Deerfield usually had enough after a couple liters, even if his big talk indicated elsewise and he sometimes drank more than was good for him. Infact, Luna could handle more than the young man. She got drunk faster, but he drunk pokerface was superior.

While Alex poured more beer fort hem, Luna, sitting across from him and Orff finally saw the time appropriate to start talking about dividing up the profits. And she had already thought up what she could say, unlinke the men. They hadn’t spent a second thinking about their shares.

"So, men. Let’s get this behind us and distribute the coin. I have other things to accomplish before nightfall." The men just cheered and started their second beer. She took out two leather pouches and threw them infront of each. The tanner received quite a haul, at least compared to the smith, who didn’t even get enough for an evening at an inn.

"This is a joke, right?" Orff started, "I know you like to haggle but this is definitely not enough."

She grinned evily, "Quite the contrary, my friend. Don’t forget that we were not the only business that profited from this morning’s show. I remember you selling a broadsword for an extraordinarilly high price today." He grunted but she continued while Deerfield quietly observed, already content with what he had received, "I could be convinced to give you a bigger share if you give us a share of your smithy’s profits from that sale in return, but I believe you are better off this way."

"Alex, help out a friend, will ya?" he said as he filled his stein from the tap once again.

But Deerfield just sipped his beer, "I don’t know, Orfy. Kinda makes sense, what she’s saying. However, Luna, don’t you think we ought to invest into the future cooperation with the smithy? I think being a little more generous could – "

He abruptly stopped when he felt a jolt of pain after Luna kicked his shin under the table. He squinted his eyes at her but drank in big gulps, as if to swallow down the pain. But even if Luna eyes burnt with rage, she did listen to what he had had to say. And it wasn’t so stupid. They had made a lot of money that day. She shouldn’t stand bad with the person who had helped them achieve this. Make him happy and maybe she would earn more coin in the long term.

"You’re lucky, smith." Luna picked out coins and pieces that made a bigger sum than she had initially given Orff. "Take it and go home. I can’t bear to see your wife’s face behind that window anymore. Why don’t you buy her some flowers or something. Work on it, alright?"

Orff emptied his third beer, and put a smile on his face, "Alright! You’re not half as evil as they say, Luna. Why don’t you be nice to people more often?" She twitched her eyebrow and watched with fiery eyes as he left.

Deerfield laughed, "Aww come on, Lun’. He’s just teasin ya. So what’s this business you have to take care of?"

He put his money pouch into his pocket and filled up again. People were still walking down Armor Alley, but it was just the strollers. These people didn’t purchase any goods but ocassionally food. Most merchants were doing the same and having an end-of-work drink. Armor Alley seemed more like a line of street cafes in the evening. She didn’t want to tell him anything about her business outside of the shop. She never did, mainly because she wanted to protect him. Alex hardly had the delicate means necessary to not anger her business parters.

But before she took care of this business, she had a more urgent worry weighing on her mind. She stood up, "Don’t drink too much, you can keep the rest for tomorrow..."

"...have you seen my sons come back home yet?"

[Deerfield]

Luna stared at Alex as her rage grew. The building anger was directed towards him, the man who always ignored the many dangers of the city and life in general. Her children were two young boys, who knew all the possible fates which sick and twisted minds brew up in the shadows. But despite all her worries, worries which she knew her friend was aware of, all he could give her was a smile. A smile that did not comfort her in any way. It was a smile that communicated his disregard for her feelings. She knew he did not share her worries. But what really made her furious was that he did not understand them either.

She imagined throwing her stein at his stupid smile and breaking those big teeth of his, shattering any chance he might have with the women later that night. Her rage only grew more when she realized he would probably spend all the money she had just given him in one night, throwing all his cares out the window. She stamped on the ground and slammed her empty drink on the table. Now Deerfield noticed her building anger and lifted his eyebrows in a worrisome manner. But fortunately for him, her sons had been playing inside the workshop since Luna had started negotiating how much coin to give to Orff.

Deerfield saw them approach then and waved them into the workshop to clean. It was something they liked doing when the grown ups felt the need to sit outside and relax and talk about their boring workday. Izz and Alex had taught them about most of the tools and Luna had taught them about the many dangers eminating from them. The two boys then spent many evenings sorting the tools and sweeping and wiping the floors, because they always found something interesting to them. And they were promised that they could keep whatever they found on the ground if it did not belong in a certain spot in the workshop. They had their fun and the adults saved some time.

Luna had been too busy trying to keep as much money as possible that she hadn't noticed them walk by. Now however, they came out of the building again, hearing their mother starting to yell at Deerfield while mentioning their names, D'hanal and D'henez. They shouted out to their mother as they came running and told her to stop yelling at the tanner.

She widened her eyes in surprise and bent down to hug her boys. She had been worried sick and ...

And Deerfield sat there at the table and filled up another beer, just smiling into the open street. She didn't know what to feel, but she was happy to have her babies with her in safety. She eyed the leather worker suspiciously as he drank the entire thing in one lifting and stood up, waved goodbye and finally made his way down Armor Alley.

Had she done him wrong? Did she interpret too much into his demeanor and actions? "Probably not" she thought "He's just a damned fool who won't even know it when something finally takes advantage of him for good and gets him killed. I don't want me or my family to get involved with that."

With that, she walked inside the house. She didn't care about the table or the keg. The smith would probably take care of it, she knew he didn't sleep well in that crammed apartment his family lived in. She wanted to spend time with the people who meant the most to her, she wanted to learn about what they had learned that day. She hadn't gone to school and used the opportunity to indirectly catch up on what she deemed valuable. She wanted to tell them what she had done and prepare them for earning money and working hard for their dreams.

But most of all, she wanted to make it unmistakably clear to them that they had to let her know when they came home and what they were doing past the time she expected them back.

[Deerfield]

It was a typical day in Armor Alley, coming to a typical close. Alex left the house he lived in behind him to seek out thrills and adventure, trusting he would wake up in his own bed again. His job allowed this lifestyle. When there was no heavy carrying to do, and the two women were healthy and jumping, they didn't rely on him. Even though he received less money when he worked less, he didn't mind. He was enjoying this phase in his life to the fullest. It was a phase that would be shorter than he thought.

Soon his biggest longing would be satisfied, and he would meet the Commander of the Sentinels...

But for now, Deerfield was stumbling to the nearest bar. In other quarters of Mistvale, he would have been an upsetting, but people here knew and liked him; and they knew and liked the good time he brought with him. He was the only person with a two-handed sword strapped to his back that could let go of all worries and cares just like that, and never get into a fight even when he was drunk half blind. However, his attitude was strangely contagious. Ever since Alex arrived in Armor Alley, the taverns in the area started making so much more money than the armoring businesses.

As usual, he celebrated through the night until he either had no money, he dragged a girl (questionable or not) into his room, or one of his friends had to drag him home. The only outcome he felt bothered with was when Luna had to be called out to make sure he made it at least to his home house. He couldn't even be bothered by the wounds he discovered on his body the next morning, the origins of which he rarely recalled.

The next morning, Luna barged into his small room under the roof as usual, only to run back out again, disgusted by what she smelt and saw. Deerfield laid there, naked, with a similarly sparsely clad woman laying on top of him. The arteries on Luna's forehead almost burst, but she didn't want to know. Obviously, the tanner wouldn't be opening the workshop that morning.

"Or will he?" she thought when she built enough courage to move into the room again. The stench was flooding the corridor now as well, anyway. She wanted to have some fun with him and chase him out of bed and house early, just for the hell of it. She actually smiled as she stepped onto the woman's behind to reach the hatch in the roof. That definitely had to be opened as soon as possible, but then she would kick him down the stairs. She pushed the woman off of him using her foot, not waking up either of them in the process, even though she tried. When she ripped the furs and blankets off of Alex, she almost threw up in her mouth.

She didn't know if she was to be horrifyingly  disgusted, impressed, jealous, or just plain old shocked. Beside him under the covers was a dark blonde elf girl, sucking his side in her sleep. Eventually, after staring at the scene for a couple minutes, she could observe the young elven woman's ears twitching. Luna didn't want to be the witness to a potentially very, very awkward awakening. She turned around cautiously and headed back to her own chambers, but not before she slammed the door shut behind her.

Inside Alex' room, still nobody seemed to wake up. The only change visible was that now the elf was licking the tanner's ribs, instead of sucking. Then, suddenly the blankets started stirring again. Eventually they were moved aside, revealing a male peck with his entire body cleanly shaven. He sat up and opened an eye, seeming to be excited at first when he saw the elf laying next to him, then a bit confused when he saw the other two figures in the room.

Without a word he grabbed one of the animal skins on the bed and ran out of the room and the building and quickly and quietly as he could.

Eventually, the female human did the same, waking up from the uncomfortable spot on the floor. 

The remaining two just spent the whole day there. The man had the decency to get up to use the toilet and get some water for them. She just let the water drip into her mouth and the urin into the bed beneath her. But none of them seemed to be bothered by that.

[Deerfield]

The day neared its close, and the entire time, Deerfield had been staring out the hatch in the roof above him. A storm was brewing over he ocean. Although Wistvale was no stranger to storms since it was a port city after all, this storm seemed different to the tanner. The elven girl in his arms was stirring as well and murmuring things in her sleep. He had a bad feeling in his gut, even if he should have been happy with the beautiful thing in his bed. However, Deerfield was unable to close his eyes, and just stared out into the sky, watching as the clouds grew more dense and dark.

He heard a faint clamor outside and figured that the people in their shops were warning eachother about the upcoming storm, preparing for it, probably barring up their windows and bringing all their goods inside. The whole situation would have been even more peculiar to him had he thought about the suddenness of the storm's appearance. Normally, the people of Wistvale were prepared for the strong winds and cyclones coming from the vast waters at their gates. Ships commuted regularly, and the fishermen and captains brought steady news about the weather on the seas. But this time, everybody had been surprised, and many seasoned sailors had no explanation for what was happening.

Deerfield already thought that the two women in the shop would probably need his help to clean everything up and prepare their story for the bad weather, but he felt so lazy. He didn't want to leave the warm comfort of his bed - and his girl, whose name he would have to find out once she woke up. Eventually, he brought up the motivation to stand up, due mainly to the fact that he was hungry since he hadn't eaten anything all day.

Just as he was getting on his feet, the door burst open again. This time it was a man he knew, he lived in this house as well. The guy had obviously run up the stairs as fast as he could and was breathing heavily, but managed to bring out the words,
"Alex ... you have to ... come outside ... NOW!"
He wanted to continue, but Deerfield saw the urgency and desperation carved into the man's face. He grabbed his underpants and put them on as quickly as possible while maintaining a calm aura. "Will I need a weapon?", he asked while smirking a little. The man just nodded as an answer and slipped down the wall to find a seat on the floor. Deerfield walked out the door to his room, and looking down to the man said, "Wake her up, but don't let her just leave." Then he ran down the stairs and made his way to the building's entrance.

All others had locked themselves inside their rooms.

Unfortunately, his sword was in the workshop, or at least that was where he had left it, or at least that is what he thought. He snuck past the entrance on the ground floor and wagered a peak outside. Many men dressed in grey, most of them seemed to be human. They were threatening Luna and other merchants and inhabitants with swords and daggers. When he quietly but hastely crawled into the workshop, he made his way to the place he usually kept his weapons. His bow and arrows were there, he saw tools, knives, his winged axe. However, his sword was no where to be found. Deerfield's heart sank to the ground.

He turned around, scanning the rest of the workshop for it in a panic. He had no time for this, the people outside needed his help. Then, he saw Izz's blonde hair behind a workbench. He rushed to her and saw her from above. She was crying and sobbing, hugging the two-handed sword he had been searching in its sheath. She looked up to him and supressed a loud scream of sorrow while handing it to him. The leather worker felt sorry for her, but he had to leave her. For the time being, he was safe where she was.

He grabbed the sword's handle and pulled it out of its sheath, leaving that in Izz's arms. Then he stood upright and stroled to the workshops window. He saw one of the 20 or so strangers walking along it and recognized his opportunity. He ran to the entrance and waited for the alarmed man as he searched the building's window for any movement. When he came to the entrance door as well, Deerfield pushed his sword through his side, forcing it out of the other. 

As he sank to the ground and Deerfield pulled his blade out of him, his blood sprayed against the tanner's naked torso. The leather worker grabbed the man's sword, taking it away from him. He threw it onto the street in the middle of the crowd, yelling,
"By Lii's devine judgement, leave these people be, or you will not experience forgiveness or mercy."